2018 Speakers

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Darius "Fuzzy" McKenzie Williams

Olivia Hogan

Zack Durnack

​

FACULTY/COMMUNITY SPEAKERS

Jennifer Sparrow

Jennifer Sparrow is the Senior Director for Teaching and Learning with Technologywhere she leads a dynamic team of more than 95 learning innovators. Teaching and Learning with Technology collaborates across the entire institution to transform teaching and learning inpositive and enduring ways. The work is grounded in the values of: accessibility for all learners, reliability and credibility of all work, and strong partnerships with faculty, students, staff and vendors that enable new ventures in teaching and learning.

Rose Cameron ​Rose Cameron is a cultural anthropologist, global brand strategist and chronic puzzle solver with over 25 years of experience in innovation facilitation and creation. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Nintendo, IBM and Microsoft are some of the brands Rose has rejuvenated on a global scale while at some of the top agencies in the world - Ogilvy, Y&amp;R, Chiat/Day, Leo Burnett, HAVAS, Hornall Anderson and Rapp. Rose is frequently invited to speak on the trending subjects she monitors and on which she reports – Millennials/Centennials, Men, Technology, Observational Big Data Research and Change Management. Her studies have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, New York Times, and The Chicago Times to note a few. She was recently surprised by the honour of being recognized as one of Central PA’s 100 Important People. (Who knew?). Her time is now spent travelling the world 200 days of the year working with corporate clients as well as governments and school districts to understand how to best serve the evolving needs of their users.

​Stephanie Reynolds ​Stephanie Reynolds is a senior majoring in Organizational Leadership from McKeesport, PA. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of 4 teens/young adults, a full time employee, and a full time labor activist from Penn State World Campus. She will be speaking at State of State 2018 in the "Impact of Technology on the Lives of Students" category.

​Marc Friedenberg​​Marc Friedenberg is an assistant teaching professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School, and previously practiced as a litigator in New York City. Marc is also a candidate for the Democratic nomination to represent Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District. He lives in State College with his wife and two daughters.

​Keith Jervis​Keith Jervis, M.Ed. ’84, is the Director of Student Disability Resources (SDR). Keith joined Student Disability Resources at Penn State University in the fall of 2007 as the Liaison to the Penn State Campuses. In July of 2013, Keith was promoted to Director of Student Disability Resources. As the Director, he has increased services to include: employment and career opportunities; technology to assist with reading and note-taking; and trained graduate student interns to provide individualized time management and organization assistance. Prior to Penn State, Keith was the Coordinator of Disability Services at Dickinson College, and a faculty member at the Landmark School, a school for students with language-based learning disabilities. Keith has a master’s degree from PSU in Counselor Education, Rehabilitation Counseling. He is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor.

Brian Patchcoski is the Director of the LGBTQA Student Resource Center at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to returning to Penn State, Brian served as an Associate Dean of Students at Cornell University focused on student support, sexual violence, and advocacy while also directing their LGBT Resource Center. During his tenure at Cornell, Brian also co-directed the Center for Intercultural Dialogue which was home to several advocacy centers and student support structures. He was also the founding Director of the Office of LGBTQ Services and Deputy Title IX Officer at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Prior to Dickinson, Brian was the Assistant Director of the LGBTQA Student Resource Center at Penn State. During his career, Brian has participated in several national research projects examining student identity development and campus climate and has served as the Mid-Atlantic Representative for the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals. Brian has worked extensively providing trainings and discussions exploring issues of sexuality and gender identity and more broadly diversity, equity, and inclusion in Higher Education.

​Jennifer Campbell​Jennifer Campbell, Director of Global Operations and Learning for The Pennsylvania State University’s Global Programs Office. She leads a team that provides support for international initiatives around global safety, sponsored relations, international legal agreement support, international alumni/development initiatives and global learning for both international and domestic students. Her professional motivation is derived from her determination to eradicate challenges or difficulties that arise from lack of intercultural understanding and self-awareness.

STUDENT SPEAKERS

​Alexa Ain

Alexa Ain is a senior in the Schreyer Honors College, double majoring in both Political Science and Labor Employment Relations. Following her graduation in May, she will be attending law school, where she hopes to advocate for those without a voice. Last year, she served as the Vice President of Wellness, working to create programs and initiatives that benefitted not only sorority women but the rest of the Penn State community. Currently, she is Vice President of Sisters on the Runway, an organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness about domestic violence. Their efforts culminate in a fashion show at the end of the year, which she helps to plan. In her talk, Alexa hopes to foster fruitful discussion about the impact students can have on their campus, not only in their years here as a student but even after graduation day.

​Tiara Dowling​Tiara Dowling is a junior from Philadelphia, PA double majoring in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Criminology. Tiara is the president of the National Association for Colored People (NAACP) undergraduate chapter at Penn State and a tour guide for the Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team (SMART). Tiara will be speaking about the ways in which intersectionality and social justice are combined in our lives.

Smith Sopp is a senior studying Computer Engineering. He is the current executive director of HackPSU, Penn State’s official Hackathon and largest student-run technology event. He is member of the EECS Undergraduate Advisory Board. Through HackPSU, he provides over 700 students from 40+ universities and 46 different majors the opportunity to learn, build, and share in an educational 24 hour collaborative technology event. His experiences have provided him with a unique perspective on the climate of STEM education, and the opportunity to examine both its strengths and flaws.

Jorge Zurita- Coronado is a senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He is from Oxford, Pennsylvania where he grew up after moving there at the age of seven from Ogden, Utah. As the son of two immigrants, he is passionate about immigrants rights and advocacy. At Penn State, he serves as the current President of the Latino Caucus. The organization is comprised of fourteen Latinx based student organizations coming together to work toward unity in the Latinx community at Penn State and advocating to solve many of the issues that Latinx students face. After graduation, Jorge hopes to attend law school and eventually work to continue advocating for the least among us.

​Matt Roda is a junior in the Schreyer Honors College studying biochemistry. Having switched majors twice, he found the perfect combination of life sciences that fit his interests and prepares him for medical school, if he chooses to take that route. But more than academics, Matt has excelled outside the classroom as cofounder of Reflexion Interactive Technologies, a startup working to improve concussion testing for athletes. Drawing inspiration from his own head injury playing ice hockey, Matt hopes to continue to grow his business with the support and mentorship that Penn State provides, and be a guide and resource for other entrepreneurs trying to bring an idea to life.

Karam J. Salameh is a senior in the Schreyer Honors College majoring in Philosophy with minors in Arabic and Sociology. An Arab Muslim American born and raised in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, he discovered at early age that he stuck out. Blessed with parents active in their communities, Karam learned the importance of community building at all levels. As he progressed through life he found himself heavily involved with his Muslim community and continually took on leadership roles in his mosque, including a youth mentorship role. He especially enjoys being around children because of their unbridled potential and curious minds. At Penn State he has been a member of the Muslim Students Association, served as President of Students for Justice in Palestine, and served in a multitude of roles in World In Conversation | A Center for True Public Diplomacy, a centerpiece of his work in the Penn State community. At World In Conversation, he learned to study conflict and conflict resolution in a rigorous and practical setting that has developed his understanding of social systems and the forces that shape them, while also directly fostering space for necessary conversations about “controversial” issues here at Penn State.

Sammy Geisingeris a senior studying General Science and Psychology, with a focus in public policy and neuroscience. Having grown up in Cape May, NJ, she never saw a mountain until her first time at Penn State. Throughout her college career she has been involved in Lion Ambassadors, UPUA, The Eberly College of Science, and the Association of Big Ten Students, an organization that exists to help the 14 Big Ten student governments collaborate and communicate. One of her favorite experiences thus far has been working within the Division of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR), in both the Alumni Association and University Programs office.​Watch her talk here!

​​Samantha Ruland

Sam Ruland is a Senior Double major in Digital and Print Journalism and Political Science with a minor in Digital Media Trends and Analytics from Philadelphia, PA. She is the editor in chief of The Daily Collegian, the independent, student-run news organization of Penn State. She was previously involved in THON, serving on the Dancer Relations committee the last two years.

​Marvin Barnhill​Marvin Barnhill is a Junior from Philadelphia, Pa Studying Labor and Employment Relations. His campus involvement includes being a Robeson Ambassador, Lion Ambassador, Vice President for the Society of Human Resource Management, and a Peer-Mentor for Blueprint. Marvin is dedicated to serving the community in any way he can. He hopes to attend law school and use his knowledge and resources to eliminate educational disparities in the future.

​Zachary Taylor, originally from Radnor, PA, is a junior at Smeal College of Business studying finance. He attended Penn State Altoona for his freshmen and sophomore year and held the position of treasurer in the Student Government Association. When given the opportunity, it came as no surprise Zak ran for CCSG President. After winning the election in March of 2016, Zak and his staff reconfigured CCSG's approach to student advocacy, delivering a new pragmatic vision for the organization. Having delivered tangible solutions to CCSG's 30,000 undergraduate constituents, Zak concludes his term as President in April. Afterwards, he will begin his internship at Amazon HQ as a financial analyst in May.